THREE • MAURADERS RETURN
The morning of September first filled Kassandra with slight dread as she realized she would have to step foot on the platform in order to board the Hogwarts Express. She knew her parents would be there, along with Regulus, and she wasn't ready to face them at all just yet. She knew she should've been brave, after all, that was an attribute that her very House, Gryffindor, possesses. Though her fear delves far into the past, and nothing could change that. At least not anytime in the near future as far as Kassandra can see. It just wasn't in the cards.
Standing at King's Cross station with Sirius and James in her company, they all finished up their goodbyes with Euphemia and Fleamont Potter. It wasn't an easy goodbye, not at all, for Euphemia and Fleamont grew quite attached of having everyone over in their home. After countless hugs, and promises to see them over the Christmas holidays, they were finally let go. And it was just in time, too, because the moment they rounded the corner to board the Hogwarts express they came face to face with Walburga, Orion, and Regulus.
Time stood still for Kassandra Lenora Black as she was faced with her worst fear. Her eyes locked with Regulus, before Sirius stepped in front of her, blocking her view. After explaining to him the previous night about what had taken place the day she was disowned. It took her the rest of the summer in order to finally open up. And here they were, facing the enemy.
"Filth, the lot of them," stated Walburga, in an offhanded comment towards her husband. Completely ignoring the presence of Kassandra and Sirius.
Kassandra, deciding it wasn't worth it, gently gripped her twin brothers arm, and led him onto the Hogwarts express, with James quickly following behind them. Once they arrived at the compartment the marauders usually sat in, Kassandra let out the deep breath she hadn't noticed she's been holding. She let a smile grace her features as she saw the other two Marauders. Finally they were all reunited, and Kassandra couldn't be happier, despite the feeling of fear that still lingered from seeing her parents again.
"Sup Moony? Wormtail? How was your summers?" Questioned Kassandra as she ruffled their hair, before she plopped down in between James and Sirius.
"It was good, Kass, how was yours?" Remus spoke as he put away the book he had been reading.
"Mine was all right, spots. Mum and dad had been fighting again," Peter said quietly.
Kassandra indeed felt terrible for Wormtail. He always seemed to get the short end of the stick no matter what it entailed.
"I'm glad to hear that, Moony," Kassandra sent a smile Remus' way, before she focused her attention on Peter. "I'm terribly sorry to hear that, Wormtail. But we're all here for you, isn't that right guys?"
"Of course it is!" James, Sirius, and Remus exclaimed in unison, making a smile grace Peter's features which brightened up Kassandra's mood.
If it was one thing she absolutely loved more than anything, was making other people happy. Even at the expense of her own happiness. It was the selfless kind of act that she adored above anything else. The way she deals with most things is simply adding humor to situations, but she didn't know how well Peter would take to her making a joke about his home life, so she chose not too this time for his sake.
Remus couldn't stay long, he had prefect duties to attend to, with James calling out that he wanted Remus to tell Lily he wants her to go out with him. Kassandra had ignored the burning sensation in the back of her throat as her throat tightened. Blaming it on the fear she felt before she boarded the train, she shrugged it off.
After a few hours into the train ride, Kassandra's eyes began to get heavy. She hadn't slept much the previous night because of the nightmares that plagued her dreams. Letting out a tired yawn, she lay her head down on James' shoulder, and soon fell into a slumber. It wasn't necessarily a peaceful slumber, as her mind made her relive the night she was disowned.
What felt like only mere minutes, she was gently shaken awake by James Potter. If she hadn't already known who James Potter truly was as a person, she would have been shocked by the gentleness of him waking her up. Groggily, she slowly opened her eyes and looked up into Hazel ones staring back at her. Her heart fluttered which she tried to ignore as heat dusted her cheeks a soft pink color. She quickly looked away before it was noticed, and made herself sit up, even if she was feeling quite comfortable.
"We're here, Spots. Padfoot left me with the job of waking you up, as he and Wormtail went to meet up with Moony to save us seats on the carriage," James said as he helped the girl stand up.
Ignoring the weird sensations she felt, she simply nodded her head and smiled. A dashing smile that even caught James off guard due to how rare it is to see her genuinely smile. She had always looked troubled about something, some untold story that she had never confided in him. Or any of them, really.
Standing up, she followed swiftly behind James toward the carriages that would lead them to the Hogwarts castle, the castle that still to this day mesmerized Kassandra by its beauty. It was an old castle, there's no doubt about that, but she always tried to find the beauty in everything, even if beauty wasn't what touched the surface. Sometimes beauty only came from within, and that's where Kassandra found happiness.
The ride to the castle was filled with jokes, and plans about the upcoming year. They would be taking their N.E.W.T courses this year, but that didn't mean they couldn't have fun. On the contrary, it meant they were going to do everything in their power to make this year plus the next year which would be their last year, the most memorable years they had ever experienced.
"Oh! There's Kayla, see you boys in the dorm, and see ya tomorrow, Kass!" Saluted Sirius, as the carriage pulled up to the castle. He hopped out of the carriage and ran up to meet a blonde-haired Ravenclaw girl.
Kassandra rolled her eyes, typical Sirius Black. She may love her twin, but the one thing she detested with everything in her, was his player ways and how he left a lot of girls quite broken hearted. It pained her, to be honest, but she never once tried to stop him. He wouldn't listen anyway. If it was one thing the Black siblings understood, is that they were stubborn. And they absolutely hated taking orders from anyone, unless it were professors.
"All right, lets go, since my darling twin brother decided to ditch us," teased Kassandra as she pushed forward into the crowd of Hogwarts students, making her way to the Gryffindor table.
She waved politely to Lily Evans and Marlene McKinnon, as her attention focused on the Headmaster, Professor Albus Dumbledore, who stood up and made his announcements for the upcoming school year. Of course it consisted, the Forbidden Forest being strictly out of bounds to all students. To which Kassandra thought with an amused smile that the Marauders had a certain disregard for the rules. It would never apply to them, no matter how much one would try to make them.
Word count; 1273
Started: September 2018
Ended: November 2018
Started editing: June 27th, 2020
Ended editing: June 27th, 2020
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